


oh, i'm afraid of the things in my brain

by Drhair76



Series: the night is dark but the moon is bright [18]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Good Brother Klaus Hargreeves, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Night Terrors, Number Five | The Boy Has Issues, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, Protective Klaus Hargreeves, but klaus is there so its okay, im so sorry i keep torturing my baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-06 07:13:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18383552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drhair76/pseuds/Drhair76
Summary: Quick to tear up with sadness, shadow over with fear or crinkle with laughter, Klaus' eyes were bright and had life to spare.But these eyes were completely dead, without a single spark of life in them.or, the one where Five has a nightmare and Klaus might actually be getting good at this 'comforting others' thing.





	oh, i'm afraid of the things in my brain

**Author's Note:**

> I literally cannot stop writing them....someone pls stop me

Ash was falling from the sky. 

Smoke clouded Five's vision and made his throat burn. He coughed, a huge hacking one that did absolutely nothing to ease the scratchy feeling. 

He knew that if he looked hard enough he'd see the bodies scattered throughout the rubble, he'd see the half charred remains of innocent people. He knew if he thought hard enough he could picture them at the moment of the apocalypse, completely unaware and helpless. 

He was back in his hell. 

He could remember trying, trying hard to stop the world ending event. Five could remember the funeral, the doughnut shop, Vanya's apartment. He could remember the prosthetics, the department store, the library. He tried so hard to rally the academy to help. 

His eyes watered and Five tried to pretend that the tears rolling down his face were just from the smoke and not from the overwhelming sadness that was welling in his chest.

He dropped to his knees, the pain making him gasp. He curled his hands into the dirt and let out a shuddering sob. 

He couldn't do it again. 

He couldn't go back and live through this again. 

He failed them. He failed the world, he failed Dolores, but more importantly he failed his family. 

All he wanted was for them to be alive and safe and healthy. 

He wanted to meet Claire and talk about Patch with Diego and listen to Vanya's violin again. He wanted to help Luther figure himself out and help get Klaus completely sober and talk with a manifested Ben. 

He wanted them to be happy, instead he ended up killing them inadvertently. 

Another sob made Five's body shake and he inhaled sharply, pulling more smoke and dust into his throat. 

He gasped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jerked back, blinking tears and dust from his eyes to see Klaus. But it wasn't really Klaus. 

The skin was torn and rotting, the hands were burnt and blackened with soot, and there was blood splattered all across his midsection. But the eyes. 

Klaus was usually brimming with life despite the dark pull of his power. It showed in his outfits, the bright colors and fabrics, it showed in his actions, the wild constant movements and active hands, and it showed in his voice, the way it rose and fell, every emotion he felt right on his sleeve. 

But it showed most in his eyes. Quick to tear up with sadness, shadow over with fear or crinkle with laughter, Klaus' eyes were bright and had life to spare. 

But these eyes were completely dead, without a single spark of life in them. 

Five tried to pull away but the hand on his shoulder tightened. 

"Five," Klaus rasped, "Why didn't you save me? Why didn't you save us?" 

Five's heart dropped and he paused. "I-I-"

Klaus' other hand shot out to grab Five's other shoulder painfully and shook him roughly. "How could you?" 

Fresh tears sprung in Five's eyes and he renewed his struggles to get free. "Please, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I can't-" 

"You're going to give up on us again?" Klaus growled. "Fail us again? Kill us  _again_?" 

Five shot up with a gasp and immediately lashed out at the figure standing over him. He heard a familiar gasp of pain but was to busy pushing away to notice. 

He scrambled back, blinking away ash and smoke and wiping away tears. 

"Ow." 

Five pulled in huge gasping breaths, grateful that he was breathing in oxygen not smoke. His fingers were curled in plush blankets, not hot dirt and there was no zombie Klaus, it was just Klaus. 

Just his normal brother Klaus who was sitting on the floor holding his nose. 

"Five?" He called out warily. "Are you awake? Or are you gonna attack me again?" 

Five took one last deep breath and peeked down at Klaus. "I'm up." 

"Good." Klaus nodded. Five hurried to help Klaus to his feet and reached out to gently tap at Klaus' nose. 

Klaus flinched back with a groan. "Uh, no. That's definitely a broken nose thank you very much." 

There was a small pause and Klaus turned to the empty air next to him.

"Well, I didn't know he was gonna punch me! Excuse me for not trusting your judgment, when was the last time  _you_  woke someone up from a nightmare huh?" 

Another pause and Klaus nodded smugly. "That's what I thought."

While Klaus was arguing with Ben, Five allowed himself to slump against the headboard. He checked Klaus over, there was no blood, no soot, no wounds. From what Five could see his eyes were alight with joy as he bantered back and forth with Ben. 

But Five could remember the garled hands and the accusing tone and the rough grip-

"Hey, Five." Klaus called out, cutting through Five's spiraling thoughts. He placed a gentle hand on Five's. "You okay? You're shaking a little."

Five's first instinct was to say no and brush Klaus off. He'd deal with it alone, the same way he's dealt with everything. But there was a tiny unusual need that had Five sighing. 

"It's the apocalypse again." He admitted shakily. "The fire, the death and...you."

Klaus blinked. "Me? What do you-"

"Dead you." Five said gravely. 

"Dead me." Klaus repeated haltingly and Five nodded. 

Klaus watched him worriedly for a moment before his  _eyes-alive and well eyes_ -lit up. He moved slowly, but with a purpose, taking Five's wrist and pulling it over to Klaus's chest. Five let him, confused and exhausted, put his hand over Klaus beating heart. 

"There. See? Not dead." Klaus said softly. 

Klaus' pyjama top was thin so Five could feel his heart easy. It was a little quicker than normal which wasn't surprising considering Klaus just got punched in the face unexpectedly. 

Five sighed in relief and dropped his head onto Klaus' shoulder. Klaus tensed for just a fraction of a second before wrapping his arms around him. 

"It's okay Five. Everyone's fine." He said soothingly. "You can take my pulse anytime you need too, just so long as you don't attack me anymore." 

"Well," Five laughed shakily, his voice slightly muffled by Klaus's chest. "I don't make promises I can't keep." 


End file.
